


liminal space of 3 a.m.

by BiesFromWildland



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian!Jules, Post-Season/Series 03, she knows she's a lesbian ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiesFromWildland/pseuds/BiesFromWildland
Summary: It was supposed to be just another cold autumn evening in Julia's life, but it turned out to be something completely different, when after coming home she discovered Carmen Sandiego laying on her sofa, all covered in wounds.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 11
Kudos: 228





	liminal space of 3 a.m.

Carmen Sandiego was all over the news. Again. There was always someone willing to write about the mysterious thief, and Julia was always ready to read it. She followed the news with a keen eye, looking for details, denying that she is obsessed. After all, didn't she quit her previous job? She didn't have to keep up to date with what Carmen was doing, and yet her small obsession quickly became known among the university’s crew. She knew which journalists are worth following and always had the newest information, so when the conversation wasn't going well people would ask her about the Crimson Thief, and she would carry the conversation all by herself.

It's been three months since she started the university job. The autumn was turning into winter, the evenings were getting longer and darker. It was cold and raining, and Julia went grocery shopping before going home. She was hungry and very cold, and all she wanted to do was to drink some tea and maybe curl under a blanket. And yet when she turned the light on in her tiny flat she froze in place.

"Hi Jules" said Carmen weakly, lying on her sofa.

Everything Julia was carrying dropped to the floor.

There was a millions questions Julia had in mind, but all she managed to stutter out was: "Carmen?"

"Yea Jules, sorry to-" Coughing. There was blood. Oh my God, Julia just realized there was blood.

She rushed to the sofa and started looking Carmen over. There was blood all over Carmen's clothes, but most of it seemed to come from tiny cuts, but where it concentrated was a big leg wound. She couldn't say what it was made by, but the blood was dark so at least an artery wasn't damaged. Then again Julia rushed, this time to look for a first aid kit in the bathroom.

"What happened?" she demanded to know, when she put the kit on her table. She also finally took off her coat and threw it over a chair. There wasn’t a time to put it on its proper place. The priority was to clean the wound, and so Julia started doing so as carefully as she could.

"Bad luck. A lot of bad luck."

"Hm. That's not really an answer. Why are you here?"

"France is full of art that you can steal." There was a hint of a joke in Carmen’s voice, and Julia couldn’t stop herself from finding that just a little bit cute.

"Yes, but why are you here?"

Carmen felt silent, clearly thinking what she should say.

"There was an ambush. I got separated from my friends. So I decided to ask for help of another friend." The words were chosen carefully, with a slow precision. Something was telling Julia that if she had still worked for the A.C.M.E she would hear a lot more detail, maybe even names of the guys that ambushed Carmen and co. But now she was just a civilian with a lot of knowledge, and also a friend. Julia blushed, telling herself that she feels this way because Carmen is visibly trying to protect her from something.

„I’m sure you could’ve just gone to a hospital under a fake name,” Julia said worriedly. She frowned, unsure what she can actually do about the wound. After all she decided to just bandage it, but it was possible that actually it needed stitching.

„They would’ve found me too easily.”

It was easy to imagine that the word about such a curious case of wounds would spread quickly. And it wouldn’t end well for anybody involved, not the doctors, not Carmen, nor even other patients. Someone so ruthless in their style wouldn’t probably hold themselves from hurting anyone on their path. Julia shivered just thinking about the possible consequences.

After taking care of the leg wound Julia started checking on other, smaller wounds. Somewhere in the middle of the work she realized, that Carmen was snorting. She chuckled softly under her breath, and when she finished her work she simply covered Carmen in a big, soft blanket.

It was such a long day for Julia Argent. She felt all the energy suddenly go away, and she collapsed onto the chair. She breathed deeply, in and out, wishing she could also go to sleep. Looking at Carmen, sleeping on her arguably very uncomfortable, old sofa, she wondered about many things. Like if this was the first time Carmen ended up in such a state? Or maybe were there times it was even worse? And why did Julia’s heart tensed so much just thinking about anything connected to Carmen? It was probably just because she didn’t want her friend to get hurt. Probably. Maybe.

When Julia looked up at a clock hanging at the wall it turned out to be past 3 a.m. already. She must have napped on that chair, but she felt even more tired than before sitting at it. When she finally got up, she took all her groceries and finally carried them to the kitchen.

Putting the groceries to proper places Julia allowed herself to have a moment of realization. Or maybe she simply connected the dots? Dots that just waited to have a bright red string put down to connect them. It must have been obvious to anyone who was looking at Julia and her small obsession, but the simple fact was that Julia knew she was a lesbian, and she knew what kind of feelings she had towards Carmen. And it would be great, it would be lovely, if they were colleagues, or acquaintances, or maybe even strangers. If they were colleagues she could ask Carmen out and hope for the best. If they were strangers she could admire her from afar. But apparently they were friends which was leaving Julia with no hopes and lots of worries.

The groceries didn’t want to fit into proper places, and the kitchen was in disarray. Soft light was coming into the kitchen through the window, barely allowing Julia to recognize the shapes. Despite that she did not turn on the light and started making a sandwich. It took her a while to realize, that there was a person standing in the door frame, but after the tiniest bit of a heart attack she sighed and started making another sandwich.

“At least sit down” Julia said. She meant it to be soft, but it came out as a command.

There was hesitation in Carmen’s moves. She moved to the table, stopped for a moment, but then moved past it, instead going towards Julia. Closer, and closer, until there was barely any space between them, and the only thing Julia could hear was blood pumping in her ears, and their heavy breathing, mingling in the air.

“Can I…?” Carmen asked, but before she could finish Julia was already kissing her.

There was hunger in her kiss. It was what she craved for so long but couldn’t get, it was a blessing, like a dream happening in a liminal space. It wasn’t true yesterday, it won’t be true tomorrow. It only mattered right there, right now.

They parted after a time, and Julia could not tell how long it lasted.

“I have to go” Carmen said quietly.

“Already?”

Carmen nodded slightly. “I will be back.”

“But when?”

“Whenever I can.”

“Be careful.”

“I always am, Jules.”

Carmen placed one more soft kiss on Jules lips, and soon she left without a trace.

Almost like it didn’t happen Julia took her sandwiches and sat down at the table. It was 3 a. m. and she was eating, and she was smiling, and she knew that now she will be not only worrying about Carmen but also waiting for her next moves with a restlessness she did not know before. Julia Argent was in love with the most exciting person in the world, and for once it felt exhilarating.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/WildBies) and [tumblr](https://bies-from-wildland.tumblr.com/)! And know that I will love you forever if you leave a comment. ♥


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